Suzanne at the Math Forum

Connections

For as long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed having thoughts and tasks and projects overlap and connect. One overlap that happened recently was because of the work Annie and I were doing at Universal Bluford Charter School. The videotapes we made connected with work I was doing to support the Mathlanding project (a grant with Maryland Public Television) and, in turn, connected with having examples of work that we’re doing in classrooms to show to potential publishers of a book we’re drafting about problem solving and communication. Having those connections encourages reflection and deepened purpose. I think one reason I’ve always enjoyed recognizing connections and taking advantage of them is that whatever I’m working on seems to get better each step of the way — it lengthens into a process instead of an isolated event or task.

In 1995 when I first connected to the Math Forum, Steve Weimar introduced me to Connections. It was how we started each morning of the Summer Institute. I had a feeling that there might be residue from one of the institutes and I just found Steve Means description online:

Do you use some idea of Connections in your work? How might a teacher use the idea? How might a school use the idea?

Thanks, Seth. I have a feeling that I might notice new things if I were to watch again, but one part that struck me this first time was Patrick’s comment about the student who views the world through the lens of an architect as he displays the structure that student built. Cool that he acknowledges that lens of the student and seemingly celebrates it.